Difficult chord voicings

[franco6719]

Ok, this might not seem like an either/or question, but as a practical matter where time is limited in life. If you are having some difficulty grasping new or unusual voicings in tempo, do you think it is better to go back and work on finger stretching/independence exercises for the left hand or just keep workin at the chords over and over. Sometimes I think a lot of those stretches, for example in Bert Ligon exercises, are just beyond my fingers or something. How do you develop this sort of "chord chops"?

[whatswisdom]

Originally Posted by franco6719

Ok, this might not seem like an either/or question, but as a practical matter where time is limited in life. If you are having some difficulty grasping new or unusual voicings in tempo, do you think it is better to go back and work on finger stretching/independence exercises for the left hand or just keep workin at the chords over and over. Sometimes I think a lot of those stretches, for example in Bert Ligon exercises, are just beyond my fingers or something. How do you develop this sort of "chord chops"?

This exercise has helped me. Practise the Major scale in first position starting in the key of F Major. (1st finger on 6.) Then go through the cycle of fourths until you've played the Major scale in all 12-keys (without leaving your position). Spend extra time and go very slowly with F, Bb and Eb (you'll see why). This is a great way to gain finger independence and dexterity and will help your handling of the more difficult chords--especially if you take it a step further by picking out the arps in each key.

[oldane]

I would say develop as much technique as you can - but not at the cost of the fluency of the music. A student of Barry Galbraith once wrote about his lessons. Often when the student showed Galbraith a new and intricate fingering he had cooked up, Galbriath turned it down with the words "Nah, too hard."

Personally my fingerings has been simplified through the years. I use mostly three or two note fingerings and rarely use higher extensions of dominant chords anymore. The pianist of a band will usually cover this well, and if the gutarist does it too, it will often clash. Remember that only the 3rd and the 7th is needed to indicate the character of the chord. The root is covered by the bass, the higher extensions by other band members.

The reason Basie and Freddie Green (I'm listening to the "Basie and Ella" album while writing this) were so effecient was the simplicity of their playing and that they didn't step on the toes of other band members. Their playing was boiled down to the absoluete essense. Nothing flashy - nothing but excellent voice leading.

But of course, solo guitar is a different matter. There the guitarist has to do it all himself. Nevertheless, moderation is a virtue here too.

[JohnW400]

You might want to warm up with a few exercises before playing. If stretches are the issue, then do a few minutes of finger stretches.

Do 1 2 3 4 but skip a fret. Start on the 12th on high E and play 1/12 , 2/14, 3/16, 4/18 and work your way down to the low E. Move down to the 11th and work your way back to high E. Down to the 10th fret and back.

But as always and with most finger exercises, don't go nuts. Just do them to warn up a bit and stretch

[Jazzaluk]

I agree with Oldane ... If the grip is too difficult then find the interval in the chord that captures the essence and simplify. If you really like the sound of a difficult grip, practice it in the context of a short progression or chord phrase that you can apply. Usually difficult grips only have a limited application from a voice leading perspective anyways. Most of the (closed voicing) stretches I use usually flow naturally from one specific voicing to another, so I practice them as a phrase always..

[thenoviceguitarist]

In reference to improving your flexibility and dexterity with stretch chords, playing the actual chords is the way to go (IMHO). I question how valuable some of those auxilary stretch exercises can really be. Most of my successful practicing has been focused on functional facets of playing guitar (again just my opinion). Try to keep your fret hand as relaxed as possible when grabbing the chord. If it hurts, stop, take breaks etc. Work in short intervals. Practice a progression to a click. Slow the click to a speed where it is almost impossible for you to miss the change. Then slowly start picking up the pace on the metronome.

Also worth mentioning, I don't think you're wasting time by working on this stuff. Let's say you're in a more torn down setting (trio, quartet). In my opinion (whether or not there's a piano) as a guitarist today, you're called on to do more than just the Freddie Green two note chord stabs on 2 & 4. These sort of studies give you the options. Ben Monder's stuff really comes to mind here.

[thenoviceguitarist]

Sorry just to clarify because I think I may have misunderstood part of the OP. I agree that hand stretches are helpful warm-ups for injury prevention.

[jzucker]

i never do finger stretches. I personally believe that stretches and finger exercises are a waste of time and can actually do more harm than good. If you want to stretch and warm up play some music!

[Gramps]

If you're having trouble with fingering a chord voicing work on that chord fingering. Play the changes real slow and make sure you play them as slow as you need to be able to play them in time. Do this everyday and in a week you'll be playing the voicings without much trouble. That is assuming the voicing is reasonable.

[franco6719]

Thanks for all the replies. I will do some of the exercises as part of warm up then and basically just slow down the difficult chordal stuff (big problem with patience unfortunately!!) as a few people mentioned so that I can't miss it. Either that, or leave out a note. Thanks again.

[MortenFaerestrand]

Originally Posted by oldane

I would say develop as much technique as you can - but not at the cost of the fluency of the music. A student of Barry Galbraith once wrote about his lessons. Often when the student showed Galbraith a new and intricate fingering he had cooked up, Galbriath turned it down with the words "Nah, too hard."

Haha, I love that, I say that a lot too However, if my hands vere slightly bigger I might say it less

[MortenFaerestrand]

Originally Posted by jzucker

i never do finger stretches. I personally believe that stretches and finger exercises are a waste of time and can actually do more harm than good. If you want to stretch and warm up play some music!

I agree on that! You'll never see Pat Metheny or George Benson (etc etc etc) play runs "in position" with stretches, jazz guitarists just move their hand a little

[JonnyPac]

I'm all about things that are easy and doable. If I still want the sound, I just take the juicy parts and use them with a bassist. The little shapes on this page are great, stretchy, and totally doable in real-time.